Bed



1934. H. w. LAUTERSTEIN 1,953,018

BED

Filed July 18, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 \P INVENTOR.

BY flow/y W law/era??? TORNEY.

March 27, 1934. w LAUTERSTEm 1,953,018

BED

Filed July 18, 1929 .2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNE Y.

Patented Mar. 27, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE by mesne assignments, to Federal Metal Products Corporation, West New York, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application July 18, 1929, Serial No. 379,170

10 Claims.

This invention relates to beds and more particularly to bed installations adapted to be associated with a closet, whereby the bed, when not in use, may be folded into compacted position within the closet to be withdrawn from the closet and folded into horizontal position for use.

Numerous arrangements have heretofore been suggested to permit of the housing of a bed within a closet when not in use. In practically all of these constructions, it has been common to provide the closet with doors, so that when the bed is in position within the closet, the doors may be closed to conceal the same. The most common prior practice has been to mount the bed upon a closet door mounted for pivotal movement on a vertical axis, so that through pivotal movement of the door, the bed is moved into concealed or exposed position as desired. Other constructions have been marketed wherein the bed is anchored within the closet upon the walls or floor thereof and independently of the door.

All of the prior installations, however, are open to the disadvantage that when the bed is in hori zontal position in the room and ready for use, the doors of the closet must be left in open position. So far as I am aware, no bed structure of the general character under consideration has ever been suggested which will permit of closing of the closet doors, while the bed is out in the room, and while maintaining operative mechanical connections between the wall or floor of the closet and the bed construction. This constitutes a serious disadvantage. For example, closet doors when swung open cover an appreciable amount of wall I space within a room and in many installations such doors when opened at least partially cover a window. In other instances, the closet doors fold back against the wall of the room and it is of course necessary to so position the furniture in the room as not to interfere with the operation of these doors.

The purpose of the present invention is primarily to permit of the closing of the closet doors while the bed is out in the room. So far as I am aware, this has never heretofore been possible with bed constructions, the operating mechanism of which is anchored permanently within the closet.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple, economical and thoroughly efficient means for supporting a bed for movement into and out of a closet and to provide for such movement with the expenditure of a minimum amount of manual effort.

In practically carrying out the present invention, the frame of the bed is mounted on brackets which are pivoted to a firm anchorage on the floor of the closet, so as to provide for pivotal movement of the bed from a horizontal position in the room to a vertical position within the closet and vice versa. A plurality of springs connect the bed frame with the anchorage in such manner as to counterbalance the bed for pivotal movement through all angles between the vertical and horizontal.

An important feature of the invention consists in the fact that the brackets which support the head of the bed from the anchorages are adapted, when the bed is swung into horizontal position, to pass out of the path of the closet door which, in the preferred form of the invention is of the sliding type. Single or double doors may be employed. They are preferably mounted to slide or roll on tracks or saddles so arranged that when the bed is lowered, the brackets will come below the bearing surfaces of the tracks or saddles. This permits the doors to be freely opened and closed when the bed is lowered with obvious advantages, the accomplishment of which has heretofore not been deemedpossible by bed manufacturers.

The invention embodies numerous other novel features which will be hereinafter more fully explained and claimed.

The accompanying drawings embody one practical embodiment of the invention, but the construction therein shown is to be understood as illustrative, only, and not as defining the limits of the invention.

Figure 1 is a vertical section through bed construction showing the manner in which a bed embodying the present invention is mounted in a closet, the bed being shown in full lines in lowered position, in dotted lines in folded position, and in dot and dash lines in an intermediate position.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the manner of supporting a bed for pivotal movement on a firm anchorage within the closet.

Figure 3 shows improved headboard construction which permits of the folding of the headboard when in position in the closet, so that a closet of'minimum depth may be employed.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the rear wall of a closet, the floor of which is indicated at 2. The closet is adapted to be closed by doors 3 mounted to slide in door guides 4 supported on metal trim 5. The doors are shown as of the sliding type and are provided with rolls or sheaves 6 adapted to roll on tracks 7. These tracks are supported on brackets 8 and these brackets which also serve as spacers for the tracks are mounted on and supported by the horizontal flange of an angle bar 9 fixed to the floor 10 of the room and contiguous to which the closet is positioned. In practice, the doors may be of any suitable character and of any desired number. They may be mounted to slide in door guides and into wall pockets at the sides of the doorway or they may be of narrow sectional folding type without de-- parting from this invention.

I call particular attention to the fact that the vertical flange of the angle bar 9 extends upwardly substantially to the plane of the lower edge of the doors with the outer face of said flange substantially flush with the outer face of the door, so that when the doors are closed, a neat and pleasing appearance results. The tracks 7 are positioned with their upper edges at substantially the same elevation as the upper edge of the vertical flange of' the angle bar 9.

Positioned within the closet are anchor plates 11. Any number of these anchor plates may be provided, but in practice two are found to be sufficient. They extend in the direction of the depth of the closet in parallel relation to one another and at a distance apart substantially equal to the width of the bed and they are firmly secured to the floor of the closet by means of bolts or lag screws 12 secured to suitable sleepers 13 embedded in the floor for this purpose. A tension bar 14 extends across the rear ends of the anchor plates and may be conveniently secured thereto by means of screws 15 as shown. The bar 14 is preferably an angle bar and its vertical flange is perforated at intervals to provide anchorages for springs as hereinafter more fully explained.

The forward end of each floor plate carries an upstanding lug 16 and to each of these lugs is pivoted a bracket 17. Each of these brackets constitute in effect a bell crank, the pivot being at the elbow thereof. The work arm 18 of each bell crank is an angular arm and extends to and is permanently secured to the frame 19 of the bed while the power arm 20 of the bell crank extends upwardly, as shown in full lines in Fig. 1.

' tension bar 14. A plurality of springs 22 of any suitable number and tension are each connected at one end to the floor tension bar 14 and at the opposite end to the bar 21 which constitutes the bed tension bar. The purpose of these springs is to partially counterbalance the weight of the bed and thus facilitate its manual adjustment from vertical to horizontal position, and vice versa. In practice, the springs are so tensioned that they will counterbalance the weight of the bed sufficiently to permit it to be manually shifted from the full line horizontal position of Fig. 1 to the vertical dot and dash line position of this figure without an objectionable amount of manual effort, and, in practice, these springs 22, which I term the main springs, may be used to the exclusion of any other or additional springs.

Experience has shown, however, that there is a point in the angular movement of the bed, indicated approximately by the dotted line position,

where the effort required in the closing of the bed perceptibly increases due to the fact that the main springs are approaching their points of minimum tension.

I therefore preferably associate with the structure additional springs 23 which may be termed auxiliary springs. These springs are associated with links 24, two of which are preferably employed. The forward end of each link 24 is pivoted to the power arm 20 of the corresponding bell crank at a relatively short distance from the fulcrum of the crank, while the rear end of the link is slotted as shown at 25 and is guided by a pin 26 carried by a lug 27 on the corresponding anchor plate 11. The forward ends of the springs 23 are secured to the corresponding links intermediate their ends as indicated at 28, while the rear ends of the auxiliary springs are an chored to cast lugs 29 on the anchor plates. With this arrangement, the tension on the auxiliary springs 23 continues to exert a pronounced pull on the bell crank after the tension on the main springs becomes materially reduced during the lifting of the bed and thus the movement of the bed from the dotted line position to the Vertical dot and dash line position of Fig. 1 may be accomplished without any appreciable increase of manual effort.

I call particular attention to the shaping of the work arms 18 of the bell cranks. The tracks 7 and the vertical flange of the angle bar 9 are slotted so that when the bell cranks are swung downwardly with the bed, the work arms thereof extend through said slots with the upper edge of said arms slightly below the upper surfaces of the tracks and with the upper edge of the work arms so shaped that the doors may move along the tracks without engagement with the bell cranks. This makes it possible to freely open and close the doors 3 while the bed is in the lowered position indicated in full lines in Fig. 1.

Thus when the bed is in the room and ready for use, the doors may be closed to impart to the room a finished, tidy appearance. However, when it is desired to conceal the bed, the doors may be opened and the bed lifted into folded compact position within the closet at which time the bell cranks will have swung free from the path of the doors to permit them to be again closed. It will be noted that the arrangement is such that there is no possibility of inadvertent closing of the bed. The entire weight of the bed is at the outer side of the pivots of the ball cranks and thus there will be no tendency of the bed to lift. It is desirable in bed construction that the headboard of the bed frame be of appropriate height for aesthetic reasons. It is also desirable from the architectural standpoint that closets for the purposes under consideration be as shallow as possible. For this reason, the headboard of the bed is shown as divided into two sections. The lower section which is designated 30 is rigid with the frame 19 of the bed. The upper section 31 is pivoted to the lower section as indicated at 32.

Helical springs 33 are secured under tension through the side posts of the head frame as indicated in Fig. 3, the lower end of each spring beinganchored at 34 and the upper end at 35. These springs tend to normally hold the upper and lower sections 30 and 31 in ,alined relation. However, when the bed is folded into the closet, the upper end of the head frame will engage the back wall of the closet and as the upward pivotal movement of the bed continues the upper section 31 will be swung on its pivots 32 into the dotted line position of Fig. 3. This places a lateral torque on the springs 33-, so that as soon as the bed is lowered, the springs will tend to straighten and thus will lift the upper section 31 of the head frame into its normal upstanding position. 7

The bed of this invention obviously requires no legs at its head end adjacent the closet and any suitable folding legs may be associated with the foot end of the bed, which, in practice, may be made with or without a footboard frame.

Experience has shown that the bed which I have hereinbefore shown and described embodies numerous novel features. It may be economically manufactured, easily installed without the employment of highly skilled labor and after installation will operate indefinitely with full efficiency. The structure fulfills a long felt want in the building trades where it has long been desired to provide a compact thoroughly reliable construction which will in nowise interfere with the operation of the doors of the closet in which the bed is anchored.

The accompanying drawings show the invention in its preferred practical form but the invention is to be understood as fully commensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a bed assembly adapted to be installed in a closet having a door mounted for movement along a predetermined path into opened and closed positions, the combination of a plurality of bell crank levers mounted on alined pivots within the closet with the work arms of the said levers extending below the path of movement of the door to the exterior of the closet, and the power arms of said levers extending in an upward direction, a bed frame secured to the ends of the work arms of said levers, and springs secured to the power arms of said levers and extending rearwardly in the closet to a firm anchor therein for counterbalancing pivotal movement of the bed from a horizontal position exterior of the closet to a substantially vertical position interior of the closet.

2. In a bed assembly adapted to be installed in a closet having a door mounted for movement along a predetermined path into opened and closed positions, the combination of a plurality of bell crank leve'rs mounted on alined pivots Within the closet with the work arms of the said levers extending below the path of movement of the door to the exterior of the closet, and the power arms of said levers extending in an upward direction, a bed frame secured to the ends of the work arms of said levers, a plurality of main springs, one end of each of which is secured to a firm anchorage near the back of the closet and the other end of which is secured to the power arm of at least one of the levers, auxiliary springs, the rear end of each of which is secured with a firm anchorage at the rear of the closet with its forward end having a link connection with the power arm of one of the levers.

3. In a bed assembly adapted to be installed in a closet having a door mounted for movement along a predetermined path into opened and closed positions, the combination of a plurality of bell crank levers mounted on alined pivots within the closet with the work arms of the said levers extending below the path of movement of the 1 'door to the exterior of the closet, and the power arms of said levers extending in an upward direction, a bed frame secured to the ends of the work arms of said levers, a plurality of main springs, one end of each of which is secured to a firm anchorage near the back of the closet and the other end of which is secured to the power arm of at least one of the levers, auxiliary springs, the rear end of each of which is secured with a firm anchorage at the rear of the closet with its forward end having a link connection with the power arm of one of the levers, said auxiliary springs being secured to the power arms of the levers at less distance from the fulcrums of said levers than the distances at which the main springs are secured to the power arms.

4. In a bed assembly adapted to be installed in a closet having a door, the combination of a door track extending across the doorway of the closet door and on which track the door is adapted to travel, a finishing plate positioned forwardly of the door track, and extending upwardly from the floor to substantially the lower edge of the door to conceal the door track when the door is closed, said track and finishing plate having juxtaposed slots therein, a bracket pivoted within the closet and adapted to extend through said slots below the edge of the door to the exterior of the closet, a bed frame secured to said bracket exteriorly of the closet, and springs coacting with the bracket interiorly of the closet to counterbalance the weight of the bed frame, to facilitate the movement of said bed frame from a horizontal position exteriorly of the closet to a substantially vertical position within the closet, and vice versa, when the door is opened.

5. In a door bed, the combination with a bed, of means for movably supporting it in a wall recess and allowing it to be extended outside of the recess, said means including angular arms rigid on the bed and pivoted on the floor of the recess, a door saddle having depressions to accommodate the arms out of the way of the doors of the recess when the bed is lowered outside of, the recess, and caused to rest on the arms as feet, so as to allow free movement of said doors.

6. In a recess bed, the combination with a bed, of means for movable supporting it in a wall recess and allowing it to be extended outside of the recess, said means including angular arms rigid on the bed and pivoted on the floor of the recess, a door saddle having depressions to accommodate the arms out of the way of the doors of the recess when the bed is lowered outside of the recess, and caused to rest on the arms as feet, so as to allow free movement of said doors, and means for counterbalancing the weight of the bed to facilitate movement of the bed from horizontal position exteriorly of the recess to vertical position within the recess, and vice versa, when the doors are open.

7. In a recess bed, the combination with a bed, of means for movably supporting it in a wall recess and allowing it to be extended outside of the recess, said means including angular arms rigid on the bed and pivoted within the recess, a door saddle having depressions to accommodate the arms out of the way of the doors of the recess when the bed is lowered outside of the recess, and caused to rest on the arms as feet, so as to allow free movement of said doors, and means for counterbalancing the weight of the bed to facilitate movement of the bed from horizontal position exteriorly of the recess to vertical position within the recess, and vice versa, when the doors are open.

8. In an assembly of the character described, a bed frame, supporting arms rigidly secured to the bed frame near the head end thereof and extending downwardly and thence forwardly beyond the head end of the bed frame, a bed closet having a doorway, a door for said doorway, a door saddle at the bottom of the doorway and provided with depressions through which said. arms may extend into the closet below the lower edge of the door to permit free movement of the door from opened to closed position, and vice versa, means for pivotally securing the inner ends of said arms within the closet to permit pivotal movement of the bed frame from a substantially horizontal position exteriorly of the closet to a substantially vertical position within the closet, and vice versa, and means coacting with said arms for counterbalancing the bed frame to facilitate said pivotal movement.

9. In a bed assembly adapted to be installed in a closet having a door mounted for movement along a predetermined path into opened and closed positions, the combination of a plurality of bell crank levers mounted on alined pivots within the closet with the work arms of the said levers extending below the path of movement of the door to the exterior of the closet, and the power arms of said levers extending in an upward direction, a bed frame secured to the ends of the work arms of said levers, and counterbalancing means secured to and coacting with the power arms of said levers to counterbalance pivotal movement of the bed from a horizontal position exterior of the closet to a substantially vertical position interior of the closet.

10. In a bed assembly adapted to be installed in a closet having a door, the combination of a door track extending across the doorway of the closet door and on which track the door is adapted to travel, said track having slots therein, a bell crank pivoted within the closet and adapted to extend through said slots below the edge of the door to the exterior of the closet, a bed frame secured to said bell crank exteriorly of the closet, and springs coacting with the bell crank interiorly of the closet to counterbalance the weight of the bed frame, to facilitate the movement of said bed frame from a horizontal position exteriorly of the closet to a substantially vertical position within the closet and vice versa, when the door is opened.

HARRY W. LAUTERSTEIN. 

